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Judge Lawrie said: “By your selfish actions you destroyed the sanctity of her home you invaded and caused her distress.”

He highlighted her victim impact statement, saying it was clear to him “her sense of distress won’t be diminished for a period of time”.

He noted how Brenton was jailed for carrying out a series of burglaries on a “professional basis” and released on licence.

He said Brenton was being supported by probation and no longer “saddled” with a drug debt, yet carried out the burglary regardless with “a degree of calculation”.

He accepted and gave credit for the early guilty plea, but said he was able to step outside the sentencing guidelines due to Brenton’s previous convictions and the fact that he was subject to licence conditions at the time. After jailing Brenton for 29 months, he thanked the investigating officer who sat beside the burglary victim at the back of court before explaining to her how he reached the under the guidelines.